In Madrid, Maria Sakkari caused an upset at the Mutua Madrid Open, defeating sixth seed Jasmine Paolini with a dominant score of 6-2, 6-1. This victory propelled Sakkari into the Round of 16.
Paolini wasn`t the only high-ranked player to exit on Sunday; World No. 3 Jessica Pegula was also upset by unseeded Moyuka Uchijima, losing 6-3, 6-2. For the Japanese player, this marked her first-ever win against a Top 10 opponent (previously 0-6) and her first victory against a player in the Top 25 (ending a 0-for-9 streak).
Sakkari`s win also broke her own eight-match losing streak against Top 10 players, a run dating back to last year`s BNP Paribas Open. Her victory brought her clay-court record against this elite group to an even 6-6.
“I had a clear plan for the match,” Sakkari commented afterward. “I went out there and executed it perfectly. I focused on not giving her any chance to recover. That`s always the objective when playing against top opponents.”
She added, “I think I played quite well, honestly.”
This win represents Sakkari`s best result by ranking so far in what has been a challenging season for the former Top 10 player. It`s her first appearance in the Round of 16 at a WTA 1000 event since the Internazionali BNL d`Italia in Rome last year.
“It feels really satisfying because it`s been a while since I`ve had what I`d call a significant win for myself,” Sakkari stated. “It hasn`t been easy recently. But I knew I had to keep faith in the process. Trusting that things would improve. This is a positive step, and I want to remain grounded with my expectations.”
She concluded, “I feel like everything is starting to click. However, there`s still a lot more work ahead.”
Sakkari has recently reunited with her former coach, Tom Hill, who had spent the past year working with Peyton Stearns.
According to Sakkari, “We share the same ambitions and goals. We have strong belief in each other. It feels very natural, and he understands my game better than anyone else. He didn`t make huge changes; he just helped put everything back in place, and it`s showing positive results so far.”
Having won her third consecutive match, Sakkari is set to play against 17th seed Elina Svitolina in the Round of 16. Their previous encounters are tied at 2-2, and this upcoming match will be their first on clay.
Paolini had been hoping to reach the fourth round for the fifth straight WTA 1000 event of 2025.
Sakkari`s serve was effective, hitting six aces and being broken just once. In contrast, she broke Paolini`s serve on six occasions.
Pegula arrived at the match with a strong clay-court record this year (seven wins out of eight matches), including a recent title in Charleston. A win would have given her a tour-leading 28th victory of the season. However, her first career match against Uchijima didn`t unfold as anticipated.
Uchijima managed to break Pegula`s serve five times, while successfully defending five out of seven break points against her own serve. Uchijima`s next opponent will be the winner of the match between 14th seed Daria Kasatkina and 21st seed Ekaterina Alexandrova on Tuesday.
